Kaepernick Was Right About Cop vs. Cosmetology Training

September 6, 2016

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Of the things 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s mentioned recently was a comparison of legally-required training for those who are SUPPOSED TO keep us safe to those who are supposed to keep us looking presentable.

Mike Florio of PFT reports: “There is police brutality,” Kaepernick said. “People of color have been targeted by police. So that’s a large part of it. And they’re government officials. They’re put in place by the government so that’s something that this country has to change. There’s things we can do to hold them more accountable, make those standards higher.”

“You have people that practice law and our lawyers and go to school for eight years, but you can become a cop in six months and don’t have to have the same amount of training as a cosmetologist. That’s insane. Someone that’s holding a curling iron has more education and more training than people that have a gun and are going out on the street to protect us.”

Florio goes on to say, “It was an eye-opening claim, one that I had decided on Monday to research: In California, where Kaepernick lives and works, does a cosmetologist have more training than a police officer?

Before I could actually start the project, I received the letter to the 49ers and the NFL from the San Francisco Police Officers Association, and I noticed that the wide-ranging response to Kaepernick’s assertions did not include a challenge to his facts regarding police versus cosmetology training. Which told me that Kaepernick was factually correct; otherwise, the SFPOA would have pointed it out.”

As expected, Kaepernick was correct. Police officers in California must attend an 888-hour Basic Police Academy, which requires roughly six months to complete. Cosmetologists in California have a 1,600-hour training requirement before they can even take the test required to secure a license. So if you do not have the patience to learn how to cut hair, than you can just become a police officer.

The question we are forced to ask is, “Do police officers have sufficient training, education, and overall fitness for this critical job?” If not, then there needs to be reform in the system. We have to look at how current officers are behaving for the answer. We have to ask things like, “Are there cops misusing their authority?”, “Are cops in good enough physical and mental shape to fairly protect the people?”, “Do the cops have the knowledge and wisdom to understand and enforce the law?”, “Is this or that officer prejudice?” and other such questions.

Kaepernick has another great point this time. Does it make sense that people cutting hair are required to have almost twice as much training as cops?